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Correctly picking the perfect age to spay or neuter your dog has been discussed in the veterinary literature for decades. In more recent years shelter and animal rescue groups have advocated for early-age, 6 months of age and even younger, spay and neuter with the goal of preventing unwanted litters. As an added incentive the surgery is quicker and less complicated prior to sexual maturity in these immature puppies. The recommendations are now changing and recent studies suggest some benefits to waiting until your dog is a bit older to have the surgery performed, especially for larger dogs.

Spaying and neutering is obviously great for population control. Shelters and rescue groups typically require that cats and dogs be altered before being adopted to ensure that they can no longer reproduce. This is not always the best for the animals health.

When animals are growing, the bone growth takes place from a site at the end of the bones called the growth plate. Sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone, close the growth plates. If a puppy is spayed or neutered before their bones are done growing, the closure of the growth plates is delayed, sometimes by several months. The result of this is that the dog will get a little taller. We also know that dogs that are spayed or neutered, are more prone to tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knees.

In an ideal world, dogs wouldn’t be spayed or neutered until their skeleton is fully developed.

Studies show that early spay/neuter does affect the growth plate, delaying its closure and causing dogs to grow taller and bigger than they should have.

For male dogs:

The signs of sexual maturity in male dogs include lifting their leg to urine mark (even in the house), humping, and overprotectiveness. Some of these behaviours can start at an early age and intensify as they continue to mature until 12 months, or even older for large breeds. During this time they build more muscle as their growth plates close. This maturation of their musculoskeletal system can help prevent certain orthopedic injuries later in life, especially in large breeds. There is also some evidence that certain cancers may be less likely if they are allowed to have some time to reach sexually maturity. Male dogs that are left intact through adulthood (past one year) and into their senior years can encounter prostate disease, perineal hernias, perianal tumors, and testicular tumors.

Small dogs do not have as many orthopedic issues, therefore it is fine to sterilize them on the younger side at 6-12 months of age. For large dogs that are very prone to orthopedic injury/diseases we now recommend waiting to neuter until 12 months of age.

The signs of sexual maturity in female dogs can have some similarity to the males, but they also will come into their first heat (estrous). This may mean up to two weeks of dripping blood, accompanied by moodiness and unwanted attention from male dogs from miles away. For most female dogs, this will happen around 9-10 months of age or older.

Once in while we will see a smaller-breed dog show signs of their first heat around 6 months of age. We also see large breed dogs that do not develop their first heat until closer to, or beyond, 12 months of age. There is a significantly higher risk of performing a spay surgery when a dog is in heat due to fragility of blood vessels and propensity for them to bleed internally. Given that, we avoid performing spay surgery while a dog is in heat unless it is an emergency situation. By about a month after the heat cycle, the blood vessels are more stable and the spay surgery can be performed safely. However, after the first heat the uterus and blood vessels have changed irreversibly to a mature state and spay surgery is more challenging than in an immature dog. Benefits that female dogs can see from having spay surgery when they are closer to maturity at one year include lower risk of orthopedic issues, a reduced risk of cancers (especially breast cancer), and a reduced risk of urinary incontinence.

When should I spay my female dog?

We recommend waiting until your dog is at least over 9 months and likely even older for larger dogs. The benefits are much more pronounced in larger dogs, but there is not a lot of difference for lap dogs. Studies have shown that large dogs spayed 6 months of age or less experience some higher risk of orthopedic problems and certain cancers and that risk is statistically reduced at 12 months. What happens statistically at each age in between still needs more study. We do know that with each heat cycle there is an increased risk of mammary adenocarcinoma (breast cancer) and risk of pyometra (a life-threatening uterine infection requiring emergency surgery and intensive care) so best to spay at one year.